A World After Ash
by Aura49
Summary: Ash Ketchum became the youngest World Champion 250 years ago. His actions and skill inspired a new wave of young Pokémon trainers to follow in his footsteps. However the fight to become the very best lead to selective breeding and DNA manipulation that caused a widespread virus outbreak that threatens the world.


I've heard the stories. The legends of a time before now. Folklore passed down from generation to generation, telling of a world before the Virus; before everything changed. The tales of possibly the greatest Pokémon trainer that the world has ever known. Ash Ketchum; a name that will forever be etched into the memory and soul of this town. My symbol of hope.

Pokémon trainers; I have been told that they were people that would capture, train, care for and battle alongside their Pokémon, their friends. And whilst doing so, they would travel around the world meeting other trainers on their journey.

But that was long ago. A time when the sheer abundance of wild Pokémon far exceeded the current populations in the few safari zones left – The last safe haven for Pokémon.

Nowadays, the 'trainer' is all but gone extinct, departed the same way as many of the Pokémon that use to roam the lands and seas. Wild Pikachu haven't been sighted in Viridian Forest in nearly 15 years. Only a few have ever seen the red cheeks of our town icon in the flesh; whilst the rest of us resort to history books.

I wonder what it was like; what it was like before the Virus took over. 'The Virus' although not actually a virus, was the product human greed and is now synonymous in this day and age with destruction, eradication, anguish, turmoil and helplessness.

Just over 250 years ago, Ash Ketchum became the youngest World Champion in a battle that was watched by millions of people around the world at the time. His actions and skill inspired a new wave of young Pokémon trainers to follow in his footsteps. To become the very best.

As years went by, becoming a professional Pokémon trainer became ever increasingly popular. Everyone wanted to be crowned as the best trainer. Doing so brought added fame and fortune, not only to themselves but to their town. Tournaments were overrun with participants from around the globe, each looking for that little something extra they needed over their opponents to become victors. Soon enough, as trainers still looking for that edge over their foes, discovered that selective breeding Pokémon would usually produce stronger and faster Pokémon than those that could be found in the wild. Pokémon breeders rapidly became the source of the most powerful Pokémon, and trainers would spend whatever was required to obtain these powerful Pokémon. For many years this continued, Pokémon trainers buying their Pokémon from breeders, and breeders would continue producing Pokémon that were more powerful than the ones from the last generation. There was no need to ever capture wild Pokémon.

However in due course Pokémon breeders were closing in on the limits that Pokémon breeding could provide. It seemed that there was a fundamental peak to the strength of Pokémon. All attempts to overcome the problem were ineffective. No amount of vitamins, breeding or training could better a Pokémons' strength. That was until the T17CII gene was discovered.

Researchers at the Pokémon Laboratory on Cinnabar Island were delving deeper into the mystery behind Ditto. Ditto the Pokémon that could transform into any Pokémon. But the reason how was still a mystery to science. It was known at the time that ditto shared this ability no one except Mew, the ancestor of all modern Pokémon. When researchers probed into dittos genetic code they discovered something that would both revolutionise and destroy the Pokémon world. They called it the T17CII gene. This gene in the dittos genetic code is what enabled ditto to change its type when it undergoes transformation. Without this gene ditto would remain a normal type regardless of its form.

With Pokémon performance at its peak and trainers still wanting even more from their Pokémon, development started on a 'vaccine' that promised to allow Pokémon to control their own types. Giving them the similar ability that of a ditto. Four years after the development began, the Cinnabar Island researchers announced that they had perfected the PSE vaccine and was ready to be released to the public.

Breeders everywhere sought out to buy the PSE vaccine. Although the vaccine was not able to allow Pokémon to control their type, Pokémon that were vaccinated shortly after they are hatched were able to 'grow' resistances to other types. Although these new resistances seemed somewhat random; a Geodude could become resistant to psychic or water or both, a Chikorita resistant to fire or maybe steel; it didn't matter. Pokémon trainers now wanted their Pokémon to be the toughest, with as many resistances as possible. Giving as many vaccinations as necessary to make the Pokémon the very best. However about one in a hundred Pokémon would reject the vaccination. These Pokémon were called 'the disposables', Pokémon that could never be of any use, to be thrown away.

The Pokémon tournaments were now teeming with these new and improved versions of their seemingly primitive predecessors. Pokémon that were selectively breed to be the best, and when that wasn't enough, vaccinated to purge them of weaknesses, and then breed again, spreading the resistances. Then one day, the world was thrown into chaos when the mutation occurred.

The Virus. It was the result when a protein in the PSE vaccine mutated and became misshaped, which in effect causes the Pokémon to become resistant to themselves. Its body begins to fight itself, destroying its own cells from the inside. At first the Virus went unnoticed as it initially has similar side effects to the resistances growing in. Drowsiness, fever and accelerated heartbeat, all normal conditions before apparently recovering in time to be sold to willing Pokémon trainers. Then months after the Virus has originally taken place, it begins to attack the respiratory system of the Pokémon, then within a couple of days it attacks endocrine system, and finally to the brain, before eventually fatality.

The Virus rapidly spread from Pokémon to Pokémon causing a worldwide pandemic. Wild Pokémon population numbers declined astonishingly quickly. Within 1 year, the number of wild Pokémon had decreased by over 80% and continuing drop. Society was also suffering. Food became scarce as Pokémon like Miltank, Camerupt and Machoke which aided farmers in growing crops would catch the virus and inevitably die. Power became unreliable due to the power plants not being able to produce enough power without electric Pokémon like Magneton and Electivire. The Chansey and Blissey working in Pokécenters were the most at risk as more trainers brought in their sick Pokémon, the most the Virus spread. Soon enough, Pokécenters became morgues. Even legendary Pokémon were not able to escape the realms of the Virus, as people found out when one day, an Articuno was found washed up on the beach in Fuchsia City.

After 3 years, relatively few Pokémon survived. 'The disposables' were immune to the effects of the Virus. But this was not enough to prevent the mass extinctions that occurred. Farfetch'd, the first Pokémon believed to go extinct, was then followed by several other species that are now only be seen in history books.

Most of the Pokémon species survived to present today. However the populations of wild Pokémon are at critically low levels. The majority of Pokémon remaining in the world are kept in safari zones, participating in breeding programs in attempts to bring many species back from the edge of extinction. Capturing wild Pokémon is now prohibited everywhere, except in very few select locations where the breeding program has already been successful.

Children are no longer encouraged to go out into the world of Pokémon. At the age of 10, children are permitted to enrol into Pokémon Academy's, where from there they learn everything they need to know about Pokémon in today's world; from breeding strategies and Pokémon anatomy to working with and caring for Pokémon. Pokémon trainers are now rare these days. Some people loath them and are blame them for causing the Virus. Others have just forgotten that they exist, but I haven't.

My name is Avery from Pallet Town and I want to become a Pokémon Master like Ash Ketchum. 

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Author's Note: I hoped you liked it this. It was a weird idea that I came up with a while ago after watching Hunger Games and Pokemon in quick succession. I tried to make it semi-realistic and include elements from the Anime and Games. But I'm not sure if I am going to continue with it. Feel free to use it as a basis for your own story, because I would want to read them.

Also obligatory statement- I don't own Pokemon, all rights belong to their respective owners.


End file.
